Manchester City Victorious As Liverpool, Manchester United Drop Points
Chelsea tasted defeat for the first time this season as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City earned a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa and Liverpool were held by Brentford in a thrilling 3-3- draw.
Tuchel had won all three matches against Pep Guardiola since he arrived at Stamford Bridge in January and was looking to extend the run. But this time Guardiola won the tactical battle as his side dominated possession and barely gave Chelsea, who were joint top before the lunchtime kickoff, a chance.
Jesus’s low shot after a lovely piece of footwork in the Chelsea box in the 53rd minute earned City the win. Victory made Guardiola City’s most successful manager in terms of wins with 221 since taking charge in 2016.
“I am so proud,” Guardiola said. “What we have done in these five years — players, backroom staff and all at the club — working together to improve the club. It’s an honour.”
“Hopefully we can make more (wins) and the next manager can come and break the record. It means we have won many games. It’s why we have won a lot of titles.”
Manchester United 0-1 Aston Villa
In the other early kickoff, Manchester United slumped to a first Premier League defeat of the season as they lost 1-0 to Villa with Bruno Fernandes missing a last-gasp penalty.
Villa went ahead in the 88th minute at Old Trafford thanks to a header by Kortney Hause. Moments later, the goalscorer turned villain when his handball gave United a penalty in extra time. Fernandes stepped up but blazed the spot kick over the bar, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer upset with the antics of Villa’s players.
“Bruno has been such a good penalty taker,” Solskjaer told reporters. “You would back him with your mortgage. What I did not like to see was the way they crowded the penalty spot and the referee to try to affect Bruno.”
“It clearly worked for them but that is not great to see. They achieved what they wanted to.”
Brentford 3-3 Liverpool
The Manchester United result paved the way for Liverpool to go top, although Juergen Klopp’s side had to settle for a point as Brentford secured a 3-3 draw in a thriller.
Mohamed Salah scored his 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool but it was not enough to earn his side victory.
Ethan Pinnock put Brentford ahead but Diogo Jota levelled and Salah struck in the 54th minute to give liverpool a 2-1 lead. Vitaly Janelt headed in a rebound to make it 2-2 and although Curtis Jones put Liverpool back in front in the 67th minute, Brentford snatched a point as substitute Yoane Wissa struck in the 82nd.
“We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in Europe. We have a well-earned point and were very brave throughout the game,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said.
Liverpool have 14 points from six games with City, Chelsea, United and Everton all on 13 points. Brighton & Hove Albion could go top with 15 points if they beat Crystal Palace on Monday.
Premier League results
Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City
Manchester United 0-1 Aston Villa
Everton 2-0 Norwich
Leeds United 1-2 West Ham
Leicester City 2-2 Burnley
Watford 1-1 Newcastle
Brentford 3-3 Liverpool
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters/Premier League.
